Seven Panthers minicamp takeaways: Bryce Young's growth, tough WR decisions, secondary help

New York Times

16-06-2025

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After Carolina Panthers second-year coach Dave Canales turned players loose at the end of last week's mandatory minicamp, offensive linemen Ikem Ekwonu, Robert Hunt and Ja'Tyre Carter sprinted off the field, hopped into a golf cart and were on their way to a 5 1/2-week break.
Canales hopes players will do more things like sprinting and less lounging between now and reporting day for training camp in the third week of July.
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'The biggest thing they have to realize is your vacation was after the season. You had three months off,' Canales said following the final minicamp practice. 'We're in a ramp now to training camp. So with these five weeks, you have a week of kind of reloading, then you've got to just kick back up into your training and build off of the strength and the fitness that we have.'
That lean at the end 🤣 pic.twitter.com/8JuDAjZrCq
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) June 12, 2025
After a five-win season in Canales' first year and a productive spring, he doesn't want to start from scratch in training camp, which will feature joint practices with the Cleveland Browns in Charlotte and the Texans in Houston.
'So that was my biggest message — readiness for camp. You can't count on camp to get you in shape,' Canales added. 'The nature of it, the mandatory days off, we have to be able to take advantage of every single practice.'
As players scattered to their summer homes, vacation destinations and the gym (Canales hopes), The Athletic looks at seven takeaways from Panthers' OTAs and minicamp.
Not to make too much of nine practices in May and June in shorts and helmets, but the spring sessions seemed to have a little more juice than during Canales' first year in Carolina. No one was supposed to be hitting, but a couple of players ended up on the ground. There were a couple of mini-skirmishes and lots of trash talking, much of it coming from Jaycee Horn and Chuba Hubbard.
The intensity extended to the coaching staff: Canales showed up to last Wednesday's media session with a raspy voice. 'It feels like camp. A lot of meetings, a lot of practice, kind of yelling and chasing guys,' he said. 'Just trying to add to the energy of it.'
Canales planned to drink some honey-infused lemon water to soothe his throat. And while Thursday's final practice was a bit calmer, it still resulted in a scrap between reserve offensive lineman Brandon Walton and backup edge rusher Thomas Incoom.
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Quarterback Bryce Young also got into the jawing, showing off a side the public hasn't seen from the third-year quarterback. It was just a year ago that Jadeveon Clowney called Young a 'quiet guy' who could stand to play with more energy.
Veteran wideout Adam Thielen viewed the trash talking and spirited practices — from Young and everyone else — as progress.
'I think it just talks about our team. We're a bunch of guys that want it. I think guys are finally sick of being the same old, same old Carolina Panthers,' Thielen said. 'I think we want to get back to what they did here in the past in 2015 and some of those other years when they had deep playoff runs and had the crowd involved and the city hyped up. We haven't had that.'
Young talked this spring about the benefits of entering a second season in the same offense following a tumultuous rookie year that included what felt like a new play caller every few weeks. Young's confidence and comfort zone in Canales' system were evident during an 11-on-11, red-zone drill Wednesday, when he carved up the first-team defense. Young twice found Xavier Legette in the end zone, then ended the day by finding David Moore in a crowd of defenders for a 2-point conversion.
Canales even threw in a trick play as he continues to shape his offense around Young's strengths. 'I think the pace of our offensive development, evolution is growing at the pace of Bryce,' Canales said. 'And he's showing such great mastery of what we're doing that he's allowing us to really push the envelope and do more things.'
Young wasn't perfect. The 2023 No. 1 pick tossed a couple of interceptions last week, including a leaping pick by Mike Jackson on Thursday in what was a better day for the defense. But Young picked up where he left off at the end of 2024, which should bode well for '25.
Canales said it's too soon to name a leader in the kicking competition. But Fitzgerald, an undrafted free agent from Florida State, appears to have the edge on veteran Matthew Wright, based on how each looked during the practices open to the media. After a tough first week in rainy and windy conditions, Fitzgerald was 9-for-10 on field goals on the skinny goal posts over the next two practices with reporters present.
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Meanwhile, Wright went 3-for-5 last Wednesday, missing on both of his longer attempts. Wright's last try — from about 52 yards — was both wide right and a bit short.
'Too early to tell,' Canales said of the kicking battle. 'Let's get a real rush out there. Let's have them kicking in games, and we'll be able to make the decision.'
There's no reason not to let this play out through the first couple of preseason games. But the early returns favor Fitzgerald.
There were signs during the rookie minicamp that this could be a different draft class. Just ask the employees at the uptown Charlotte hotel who poked their heads into a meeting room where first-year edge rushers Nic Scourton and Princely Umanmielen were reviewing their defensive responsibilities while using chairs as offensive linemen.
Canales said in April he had run through hundreds of simulations in mock drafts and never landed on one in which the Panthers took wideout Tetairoa McMillan, Scourton and Umanmielen with the first three picks. McMillan missed the final two minicamp practices with a leg issue, but Scourton and Umanmielen received a lot of work at a position where a couple of veterans were sidelined, and Clowney is no longer on the team.
Among the other rookies, former Notre Dame tight end Mitchell Evans saw his learning curve accelerated after Tommy Tremble's back surgery last month. Jimmy Horn was limited with a hamstring injury, but the ex-Colorado wideout, with his speed and return ability, will be someone to watch at training camp.
'I think that this is one of the best rookie groups I've been around in terms of their attention to detail, their study habits, their body prep,' Canales said. 'They're doing things that six-, seven-, eight-year veterans do before and after practice. They're curious. It's a curious bunch.'
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The Panthers went into Week 1 last year with only five receivers on the active roster, then brought Jalen Coker up from the practice squad a few weeks later after Thielen was injured at Las Vegas. Canales hasn't said how many wideouts he expects to keep this year, but thinks the competition for the last couple of spots will be 'very difficult.'
Thielen agrees. 'For the first time since I've been here, you look around the room and I don't know who's gonna make the team. And that's a great thing,' he said.
Thielen, McMillan and Legette are locks. Horn likely is, too, given that the sixth-round pick could well be the punt returner. That leaves veterans Hunter Renfrow, Dan Chisena and Moore competing with younger players like Coker and undrafted free agent Jacolby George fighting for the final spot or two.
'Special teams is going to be such a huge piece of that puzzle. How can these guys help us in the coverage units? Can they help us as a returner?' Canales said. 'That's the part where we get to challenge our guys to find a role, take this thing seriously. 'You're not here just to catch passes. We only get so many helmets on game day, so we need all of you guys to contribute in different ways.''
There's a good chance general manager Dan Morgan adds to the defensive backfield. But the Panthers aren't inclined to pursue free-agent cornerbacks Jaire Alexander or Jalen Ramsey, who could be headed to a reunion with the Los Angeles Rams. Still, improving the corner depth would be advisable.
The two safeties the Panthers had in for visits in March — Julian Blackmon and Marcus Williams — both remain unsigned but figure to be in camps at some point in August. If it's between those two, Blackmon is the better choice after ranking 23rd among 171 safeties in Pro Football Focus' coverage grades last year, when Williams ranked 162nd.
Another potential option could be free-agent safety Justin Simmons, who led the league with six interceptions with Denver in 2022 when Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero held the same title with the Broncos. Simmons, who had two picks in 16 starts last year in Atlanta, also has been linked to the reigning Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.
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Meanwhile, a couple of the Panthers' second-year defensive backs had solid showings. Cornerback Shemar Bartholomew, claimed off waivers from the New York Jets last August, had a pair of interceptions while Chau Smith-Wade received reps at corner, nickel and safety. Horn was impressed with the jump Smith-Wade made in the spring.
'I think he's been the most impressive player from OTAs just 'cause how fast he got the defense in one year,' Horn said. 'He's out there making the calls for the safeties. … He's lining up everywhere. He's just making a lot of plays. And the communication's the biggest thing for me — a second-year player communicating like that.'
The Panthers weren't taking any chances with some key players, erring on the side of caution when McMillan got kicked in the leg while going down for a ball in Tuesday's first practice. McMillan had swelling in his leg, but Canales said the first-round pick was 'fine.' Outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum was held out of team drills with a back issue.
Derrick Brown, the Pro Bowl defensive end, was limited to walk-throughs and light side work coming off September knee surgery. Brown plans to stay in Charlotte this summer to continue his rehab with the hopes of being ready for the start of camp.
Tremble could start camp on the physically unable to perform list, while edge rusher Amare Barno's status is also in question after a clean-out procedure on his knee. But the Panthers appeared to avoid any serious injuries before the summer break.
(Top photo of Bryce Young: Jim Dedmon / Imagn Images)